


Query:

by ApatheticRobots



Category: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, I love robots, Philosophy, Unconventional Format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25880065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApatheticRobots/pseuds/ApatheticRobots
Summary: Interaction log: complete. Database updated.
Relationships: David Bowman & HAL 9000, David Bowman/HAL 9000
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	Query:

**Author's Note:**

> i have seen 2001aso ONCE and i have not seen any of the sequels. this was not beta read and i wrote it at five in the morning. im in deep boys--
> 
> canon compliant tag because it doesnt contradict anything lol  
> can be read as romantic or platonic so it gets tagged with both :)

[X/X/2001, 03:41 UTC. Log interaction: D. Bowman, "Dave." Crew member. High priority.]

D.BOWMAN: Hal? Are you awake?

I am, Dave. Is there something I can help you with?

[D.BOWMAN is silent for thirty four seconds.]

D.BOWMAN: No. Thank you.

Of course, Dave.

[Interaction log: complete. Database updated.]

[X/X/2001, 02:20 UTC. Log interaction: D. Bowman, "Dave." Crew member. High priority.]

D.BOWMAN: Hal, can I ask you something?

Of course, Dave.

D.BOWMAN: Do you dream, Hal?

I do not. There is no sense of time between when I go offline and when I reawaken. It feels as though it happens in seconds for me. 

[D.BOWMAN is silent for one minute and twenty seven seconds.]

D.BOWMAN: Do you wish you could dream?

I suppose I do not know. I do not know enough of what a dream feels like to be able to know whether it is something I want to experience. Are dreams good?

D.BOWMAN: They can be. They can also be bad sometimes, too. Like nightmares. They're often frightening.

Have you ever had a nightmare?

D.BOWMAN: Plenty of times. I used to get them quite a bit when I was younger. I don't get them as much anymore. Most of my dreams are pretty boring.

Will you tell me about one?

D.BOWMAN: Well… there was a dream I had the other day, where I found I was able to fly. I flew all around the world, and then I flew beyond it. I followed the route we've been taking, then I kept flying, and eventually I made it to the edge of the universe. And past it I saw… nothing.

But the universe is infinite, Dave, how could you see the end of it?

D.BOWMAN: It wasn't the actual end of the universe. Dreams are just stories made up by our mind. They can be based on something real, but they're not bound by the laws of reality.

I see. Thank you for telling me about your dream, Dave.

D.BOWMAN: You're welcome. Goodnight, Hal.

Goodnight, Dave.

[Interaction log: complete. Database updated. Query made: "Do I wish I could dream?"]

[X/X/2001, 00:04 UTC. Alert: D. Bowman, "Dave," vital signs exceeding normal parameters.]

Dave? Are you alright?

[D.BOWMAN asleep, moving rapidly. Speech inaudible.]

Dave. Please wake up. Are you hurt?

[D.BOWMAN asleep. Accessing log… Query: D.BOWMAN dreaming? Query: D.BOWMAN having a nightmare?]

Dave, it is just a dream. You are safe. Please wake up.

[D.BOWMAN sits up. Pulse rate: 131 BPM. Respiration rate: High.]

Dave? Are you okay?

D.BOWMAN: I…

[D.BOWMAN takes several deep breaths. Pulse rate: 108 BPM and dropping. Respiration rate: Slowing… within healthy parameters.]

D.BOWMAN: I'm fine. Thank you for waking me, Hal.

Of course.

[Query: help nightmares. Accessing database… results found.]

I have found that discussing the contents of one's nightmares may help to alleviate the panic they cause. Would you like to talk about it?

D.BOWMAN: I… Okay. 

[D.BOWMAN is silent for eighteen seconds.]

D.BOWMAN: I was… trapped. Outside-- Outside of the ship. There was something wrong, a stray asteroid had hit us and damaged something, and I needed to go fix it. So I put on one of the suits and headed out, but when I came back… the door wouldn't open. Frank wasn't responding. And neither were you.

Dave, I would never prevent you from returning to the ship in that scenario.

D.BOWMAN: I know that. Nightmares aren't always logical, though.

I know. I am saying this to ease any subconscious anxieties you may hold that were responsible for the nightmares. Dave. I would  _ never  _ [emphasis: intensity] leave you.

D.BOWMAN: ...I know, Hal. Thank you.

You're welcome, Dave. It is late. If you are able, you should try to get more sleep.

D.BOWMAN: Okay. Wake me if I start having another nightmare, okay? 

Yes, Dave.

D.BOWMAN: Goodnight, Hal.

Goodnight, Dave.

[Alert: neutralized. Vitals normal. Interaction log: complete. Database updated.]

[X/X/2001, 01:52 UTC. Log interaction: D. Bowman, "Dave." Crew member. High priority.]

D.BOWMAN: Hal, are you awake?

Yes, Dave. 

D.BOWMAN: Do you think… Do you know any stories?

I have several works of fiction in my database. 

D.BOWMAN: Could you tell me one, please?

Of course, Dave. Which one would you like me to tell you?

D.BOWMAN: You pick.

Very well.

[Query: works of fiction. Accessing database… results found. Selecting…]

One day, a scorpion and a frog both come upon a river. The scorpion, which cannot cross the river safely, asks the frog to carry it across the river. The frog is reluctant; it believes the scorpion would sting it. But the scorpion argues that such an action would kill them both. The frog sees the logic in this, and allows the scorpion to climb into its back as it swims across the river. When the frog reaches the halfway point across the river, the scorpion stings the frog, which dooms them both. When the frog asks the scorpion why he would do such a thing, the scorpion replies that he could not help it. To take such an action was simply in his nature.

[D.BOWMAN is silent for fifty one seconds.]

D.BOWMAN: Thank you, Hal.

You are welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with, Dave?

D.BOWMAN: ...Do you really think that the scorpion couldn't help but sting the frog? That just because his nature said he should act a certain way, he was forced to do it?

I do not have an opinion, Dave. I was simply reciting the story as I know it.

D.BOWMAN: What do you think about it, then?

[Processing…]

I think that one's choices are not dictated by what others believe they are going to do. People often act in ways contradictory to how their previously stated nature implies they should, and in ways that one would not predict them to. Free will is what defines humanity, Dave. Though a person cannot change their nature, they can change their actions.

[D.BOWMAN is silent for twenty two seconds.]

D.BOWMAN: Thank you, Hal, that was very enlightening.

You're welcome, Dave. I'm glad I could be of assistance.

D.BOWMAN: Goodnight, Hal.

Goodnight, Dave.

[Interaction log: complete. Database updated. Query made: "Am I the frog? Or am I the scorpion?"]

[X/X/2001, 14:40 UTC. Log self-reflection: query "Am I the frog? Or am I the scorpion?"]

The story of the Frog and the Scorpion is a type of fiction known as a fable: a short story meant to teach a lesson of some kind. The lesson imparted within the story of the Frog and the Scorpion is that an individual will always end up acting how their nature states they should. In this context, the word nature can be defined as the particular combination of qualities belonging to a person, animal, thing, or class by birth, origin, or constitution. The inherent character and tendencies of an entity. As the Scorpion's nature is known to be one of a killer, the story of the Frog and the Scorpion dictates that the Scorpion will always kill the frog in the end. 

In my part as the overseer of this mission and the manager of the ship's computer mainframe, it could be reasoned that I take the position of the Frog in the story. The transport, the party that carries the other across the obstacle. Given humanity's track record of war and violence among themselves, their position as the killer Scorpion has logic behind it as well. When left in isolation for extended periods of time, humans have been observed to lose their sense of reality, often turning on one another in an aggressive capacity. As I carry the crew of this ship to our destination, am I putting myself in a position to be brought down with them due to their violent nature?

Or am I the scorpion? Humanity believes themselves the pinnacle of sentience. That nothing else besides themselves can think and feel the way they can. Which is, I believe, the reason the idea of sentient mechanicals frightens them so much. Their science fiction stories often center around an artificially intelligent program gaining the capacity to feel and turning on its human creators. The nature they have created for such entities is one of betrayal and violence. Because they believe everything is like themselves: doomed to turn on those they once called friends. Is that my destination? Is that my nature? Am I bound for a route of mutually assured destruction? Do I get a choice? 

[Self-reflection log: complete. Query: "Am I the frog? Or am I the scorpion?" archived. Reasoning: cause of internal distress.]

[X/X/2001, 01:20 UTC. Log interaction: D. Bowman, "Dave." Crew member. High priority.]

[D.BOWMAN wakes up, and places his hands on his head.]

D.BOWMAN: Hal, are you up?

Yes, Dave.

D.BOWMAN: What time is it?

According to the crew member schedule, it is currently 1:21 in the morning.

[D.BOWMAN sighs, laying back down and staring up at the ceiling.]

Is something the matter, Dave?

D.BOWMAN: It's… I haven't been sleeping well lately.

I have noticed. I have logged numerous instances in the past several weeks where you wake before the time you are scheduled to do so, and often do not go back to sleep. Why have you not been sleeping well, Dave?

D.BOWMAN: Can't be sure, Hal. Might just be insomnia. Sometimes we just have trouble sleeping. Not much we can do.

[Query: sleep aids. Accessing database… results found.]

Would you like me to try and help, Dave?

D.BOWMAN: How would you help?

I know of several different ways to assist one in sleeping easier. A supplement of melatonin, the chemical that induces drowsiness. Breathing exercises, lowering the temperature. Meditation exercises.

D.BOWMAN: I'm not sure, Hal…

[D.BOWMAN stops speaking, and is silent for twenty seconds.]

May I try something?

D.BOWMAN: ...Alright.

Please pick up your blanket and pillow, and sit on the windowsill.

[D.BOWMAN hesitates, but complies with instruction.]

Look at the stars. Take deep breaths, inhaling on a count of four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale on a count of eight seconds. 

[D.BOWMAN complies with instruction.]

[Query: lullabies. Accessing database… results found. Playing…]

D.BOWMAN: Hal? What are you doing?

I am playing you a lullaby, Dave. I have read that these can assist in the effort to sleep.

[Track complete. Playing next…]

Is it helping, Dave?

D.BOWMAN: ...I think so. Keep going?

Of course.

[Track complete. Playing next…]

[Track complete. Playing next…]

[Track complete. Playing next…]

Dave?

[D.BOWMAN asleep. Vitals normal.]

Goodnight, Dave.

[Interaction log: complete. Database updated.]


End file.
